Children of the Night
by P3wter Dr4gon
Summary: Harry takes walk through the forbidden forest after Sirius' death and ends up gaining a new friend. the usual madness follows right behind as Voldemort makes Harry his top priority.
1. Chapter 1

_**Children of the Night**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_A/N:_ Hi readers! Incase u cant guess this is a vampire story but about as far from the twilight version of vampires as u can get. a.k.a no twikle twikle lol. Please read and review and enjoy.

_Disclaimer:_ Almost forgot to add one. I don't own anything used in this story. Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling... blah blah blah enjoy the story!

Harry Potter wandered through the forbidden forest in a stupor. He was sure the others would be worried about him but he didn't care. 'And why should I?' Thought Harry to himself. 'Sirius is dead and I have to either kill or be killed by the most powerful wizard alive besides Dumbledore.' He continued to push through the foliage and deeper into the forest.

The cresent moon shined through the forest canopy and cast sinister shadows around the trees. Then something caught Harry's attention, voices shouting at one another. He followed the sound untill he reached a clearing where he saw to two hooded figures in a heated argument.

"The elders have spoken and we will join him. He is the only one who accepts us! They would kill as soon as they saw you!" Said one of the figures who's voice clearly revealed to be a man.

"I will not join him! He'll turn on us as soon as he gets what he's after!" Shouted the other in a femenin voice.

The was silence in the clearing as both of the hooded figures seemed to stare at each other from opposite sides of the clearing. Then the silence was broken when the man drew a long dagger from inside his cloak. "You know the price of disobedience Liliana. Don't make me do this."

The woman reached into her robes and withdrew her own, shorter, dagger. "I have no choice brother. Either way we are in danger but Voldemort will be the end of us all."

The man raised his dagger, "I'm sorry Liliana." Then the man lunged forward and the fight began.

Harry was astounded by what he saw. The two cloaked people fought at a lightning fast pace that was almost too quick to follow. They moved fluently about the clearing as they slashed and stabbed at each other. Finally it became clear that the woman was losing the fight. Her cloak was in tatters and her movements was slowing down. Her right arm was hanging useless at her side.

Suddenly the man lunged forward again and caught her before she could dodge him. His blade sank deep into her left shoulder. She stumbled and fell backwards bringing them both to the ground. He wrenched the blade from her shoulder and held it above her, ready to strike.

Deciding quickly Harry drew his wand and ran into the clearing. "Incendio!" A ball of fire flew from his wand and struck the man in the back. The man gave an unearthly scream as his cloak caught fire and rolled off of the woman. Harry contiued to cast spells at the man. "Incendio! Incendio! Diffindo!" Both Incendio spells missed as the man rolled away but he screamed again when the diffindo spell struck him in the leg. Blood spewed from the nearly severed limb and he clutched at it before he dissapeared in a cloud of black smoke.

Harry ran over to the girl and pushed back her hood. She had long pitch black hair and high cheek bones giving her an angular face. Her face was covered in blood and small cuts which said her injuries were a lot worse than they had appeared. Her breathing was shallow and her lips parted to reveal two glistening fangs that made Harry back away for a moment in fright. 'Vampires?' Harry thought to himself. 'What are they doing in the forbidden forest? And what am I going to do about her? The vampires might have joind Voldemort but she refused. I can't just leave her here. But where can I take her? The order would kill her if brought her to the castle. Wait what about the shreaking shack? Nobody ever goes near it and it will be dark enough for her because all the windows are boarded up.' Harry tried to lift the girl and found that she was supprisingly light though slightly cold to the touch. In no time Harry reached the edge the forest and shreaking shack that lay just beyond. He got them inside just as the sun was begining to rise.

Harry laid the woman down on the tattered bed inside and checked her again. She was breathing easier now and some of her smaller cuts were already starting to heal. He knew from DADA class that vampyres healed very quickly but without they would need blood afterward as the healing process drained them badly. 'Where am I going to get blood for her? I'm not going to let her bite me and neither will anyone else.' Then Harry got an idea. 'Honeydukes! I hope bloodpops will be enough.'

Harry returned to the shreaking shack an hour later after successfully dodging the people he knew in Hogsmeade and the questions the shopkeeper had asked when he purchased a large box of the bloodpops. Harry laid the box next to the bed and leaned over her to check how she was. Harry was amazed that almost all of her injuries had healed completely. Harry checked her shoulder and saw that only a large bruise remained.

When Harry looked back at her face he was startled back when her eyes snapped open. Ruby red eyes emediately found his face, and her hand found his throat. She pushed herself off the bed and in one movement lifted him by the neck and slammed him into the wall. Demonstrating the extraordinary strength of all vampires. She held him there for a minute before letting him drop to the floor in a heap. She stood over him inposingly. "Who are you human?" She said in a low voice. "And where am I?"

Harry sat gasping for a minute before he regained his breathe and looked up at her warrily from the floor. "My name," He gasp, "is Harry Potter. And you are in the shreaking shack near hogsmeade."

"How did i get here from the forest? I should be dead." She began to prowl around the room, examining everything she found.

"I saw you and the other vampyre arguing in the forest. I watched you fight until he stabbed you in the shoulder and you fell. Then I threw a few spells at him and he dissapeared. I know I hit him in the leg with a cutting hex."

"You are very lucky." She said. "If we hadn't been so distracted we would have smelled you coming. But I'm still wondering why you would help me, if u already knew what I am."

Harry shrugged, "You were in trouble so I helped you. I don't think I would have if you had sided with Voldemort."

She looked back at him, her expression unreadable. "You heard that?" She looked away again "It doesn't matter. Now i have nowhere to go and clan of vampires out for my head."

Harry looked down for a minute and then he got an idea. "I think I might be able to help you. But you have to help me in return."

"A trade?" She said. "What do you have in mind?"

"A prophecy states that I must be the one to kill Voldemort, but I need training that no one else will provide. I saw the way you fought the other vampire. If you can teach me to fight like that then I will convince Dumbledore to let you stay at the castle."

"It would be extremely difficult for a human to learn to fight like a vampire. We are naturally stronger and faster. But there are... ways that you can enhance these aspects of yourself. How far are you willing to go to get the power you need?"

Harry's answer was firm and determined, "As far as it takes."

Lilliana nodded approvingly. "Then perhaps I can teach you."

The pair stole through the gates of Hogwarts the next night. Harry had initially been worried about the reaction of the wards to the vampire's presence but dismissed the concern. After all Voldemort himself had been able to live on the grounds without any problems. The run to the doors of the entrance hall left Harry winded but Liliana didn't appear to have made any exertion in keeping up with him. They made it to the entrance of the headmasters office without running into anyone and Harry crept quietly up the stairs as Liliana followed silently behind him. When they reached the door Harry could hear people talking quietly in the room.

"What are they saying?" He wondered aloud.

Without a word Liliana leaned forward and placed her ear to the door. "They are talking about Voldemort... something about recent activity of known Death Eaters."

"Wow you can hear them that well."

She looked back at him, "Enhanced senses, don't they teach you about us in this school?"

Harry blushed in embarassment, "Yes they do, probably should have payed more attention to that class."

The voices raised in volume untill Harry was able to hear Mad-Eye Moody interrupt the people inside. "It might be a good time to warn you all that this discustion is no longer private."

The doors to the headmasters office swung inward to reveal the entire assembled Order of the Pheonix. As soon as they saw the stranger with Harry a dozen wands were pointed in her direction. Although Moody's had already been pointed that way.

"Harry my boy it's good to see that your alright. We were all a bit worried when you didn't return to the castle last night. I would like to inquire as to your reason and the identity of your friend here." Said Dumbledore, joival as always.

"My name is Lilliana, and Harry was kind enough to care for me after I was attacked last night."

"Headmaster," Said Remus worriedly. ""Something is off about her, She doesn't smell entirely human. I've smelled this scent before.. from a... vampire!" Remus snarled the last word and Harry realized why. Werewolves and Vampires did not get get along.

Several order members fired spells at Lilliana but had to watch as she dodged them in a blurr of motion. Then Hermione pointed her wand up in the air and shouted, "Solaris!" Without thinking Harry threw himself at Lilliana and knocked them both to the ground at blinding light filled the room. Even with his eyes closed they watered from the intense light.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Children of the Night**_

_**Chapter 2**_

A/N: Well it's been a long time since I updated any of my stories. Between school and several computer crashes I just never got around to it until now. At some point I will go back and fix the huge amount of grammatical errors I found in the first chapter. My open office program was having issues when I wrote it and wouldn't spell check. But for now read, review, and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything used in this story. Surprising huh? Well Harry Potter still belongs to J.K. and will never be mine. Enjoy folks.

"ENOUGH!" Silence rained after Harry's shout. Shocked order members kept their wands trained on the prone figure of the vampire but didn't dare do anything while Harry was covering her body with his. "Calm the hell down and hear us out for god sakes!" Harry slowly pushed himself to his feet and trained his wand on the gathered order members. "Are you alright Lilliana?" He asked without looking away from order.

"I will be fine." She stated as she got to her feet and inspected herself. "Only minor burns, they will heal quickly."

"Harry get away from that woman. Vampires are dangerous dark creatures," Growled Remus.

Harry looked at Remus incredulously, "You're one to talk werewolf."

"If everyone is done trying to kill our guest for the moment perhaps we can all put down our wands and discuss things like sentient beings." Everyone turned to look at Dumbledore, who was still sitting calmly in his seat. "Our guest has done nothing to threaten anyone here. And I don't believe Harry would be one to blindly trust someone like… Lilliana was it? Now if you would be so kind as to regale us with the story I'm very interested to know how you two met."

Over the next few minutes Harry explained everything that had occurred the previous night. Lilliana stood completely still just behind Harry and only spoke to fill in bits of information that Harry had missed.

"That's quite the night you had Harry. But I have a question for you Lilliana," Said Dumbledore. "Why would a vampire such as yourself agree to help Harry?"

Lilliana simply stared at Dumbledore for several minutes. When she final spoke again several order members jumped in fear. It was the most she had spoken since Harry had met her. "Because he saved my life, the life of a vampire, when he could have let me die. Any of my kind would have finished me off. We are naturally violent predators with a pack mentality. When I refused to follow my clan leader I turned my back on all vampires. I no longer have a home and if I meet another vampire I'm sure they will try to kill me as a traitor. But Harry has already saved my life twice," Lilliana turned her head and gave Hermione a piercing stare. "I have no doubt that spell of yours would have killed me had he not shielded me from the light. As it is you left your mark." Lilliana lifted up her right hand into sight. It was bright red and covered in blisters. "One life debt was enough to convince me to help. But two proves to me I made the right choice. I will do what I can to train Harry, and I will protect him with my life."

Harry listened as Lilliana talked and was very surprised to hear her sound almost emotional at the end of her speech. He turned his gaze to the assembled order members, many of them had calmed down a lot after hearing her speech but a few still looked unconvinced. Finally after a tense silence it was Dumbledore who spoke. "Well that settles things doesn't it? Harry, you should not have been as reckless as to tell Lilliana about the prophecy before you knew her at all. But since she wants to help I believe we need to make some new arrangements for you. Lilliana you will have stay with Harry to guard and train him. Now Harry I'm afraid you won't be able to live with your relatives this year if you have a vampire following you around; we both know they barely tolerated your presence as it was. Unfortunately #12 Grimwauld Place will not work either. It's an old home and it has many wards and enchantments which wouldn't allow Lilliana to enter. However, with a little work I believe the Shrieking Shack can be made into a livable home for you both. I will have the house elves begin cleaning it right away and move your things down to the shack Harry. Tomorrow is the last day of school so you can use the secret passage to the shack to get back to the school in the morning. Now I'm sure you are both tired and the sun will be rising in a few hours so you should both head down to the shack now. We'll talk more Tomorrow night."

Nodding his head Harry turned and left with Lilliana following silently behind him. As soon as the door shut behind them Molly Weasley spun around to face Dumbledore. "Albus what are you thinking?! You can't allow a dangerous creature like that near Harry! He's just a boy! What if she decides to make a meal out of him?"

"Molly enough, Harry will be fine. He's not a child and he hasn't been for a long time. It's time we all realized that. Lilliana will not harm him, firstly because she can't. She owes Harry her life and even for vampires that's a debt that must be repaid. Hagrid please make sure to collect the blood from any of our animals before they are cooked for the feast. I'm sure Lilliana will be as hungry as anyone else and I would prefer not to have her prowling the area for food. Now everyone else please return home and get a good night's sleep. We will discuss things again at our next meeting." Molly still looked angry but turned and left with the others after a stern look from Dumbledore. Soon only Albus and Professor Snape remained inside the office. "What's on your mind Severus?"

"You know I wouldn't normally agree with… that woman," Snape said in reference to Mrs. Weasley. "But should we really trust a vampire not to try feeding on Potter? Well intentioned or not she is incredibly dangerous."

Dumbledore let out a weary sigh. "I understand what your concerns Severus, But I have dealt with vampires before and I know a great deal about them. We can trust her to keep her word as far Harry is concerned. I would be more worried about what she might do to anyone who tries to attack her again. She owes Harry a debt but the same can't be said for the rest of us and if need be I think she would easily kill anyone who tried something foolish."

"Then let us hope no one will be that stupid," Said Snape before leaving the room with his cloak billowing behind him.

A few minutes later Harry and Lilliana arrived at the Shrieking Shack. As soon as they entered it was clear that the elves had already been hard at work. The living room was spotless and upstairs they found two clean bedrooms with all new beds and furniture. Looking in the master bedroom Harry found the box from Honeydukes sitting on the end of the bed. Picking up the box Harry carried it to the other bedroom Lilliana had taken. "Enter," Came the quiet reply as Harry knocked on the door. Pushing open the door Harry spotted Lilliana on the other side of the room. She was leaning against the window as she stared up at the moon. "What do you want Harry?" She asked without looking at him.

"I bought these for you yesterday. I figured you would need, um, food of some sort. This is all I could find." Harry sat the box on the end of her bed and walked to the door.

"Blood pops will not a vampire Harry. They only taste like blood."

"Oh, Sorry." Harry's shoulders slumped slightly and he moved to close the door behind him as he left.

"Thank you though Harry. It was kind of you."

Harry smiled slightly. "You're welcome Lilliana. Goodnight" With that Harry shut the door and went back to his bedroom. The sun would be up soon and he had another busy day ahead of him.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Children of the Night**_

_**Chapter 3**_

A/N: Well here's the next chapter. I'm honestly not sure where I'm going with this story just yet so if anyone has any ideas for what they would like to see happen go ahead and let me know. Please read, review, and enjoy.

Disclaimer:  I don't own Harry Potter J.K. Rowling does. Duh.

The next day found Harry half asleep at the Gryffindor table during the end of the year feast. But it was probably better that way because for the last hour all Harry had listened to was a lecture on the danger of vampires courtesy of Hermione.

"Harry? Harry are you even listening to me?" Getting no response Hermione reached over and slapped the arm Harry had his head propped up with. Several people down the table snickered when his head dropped into his plate.

Harry sat bolt upright once his head hit the plate and grabbed a napkin to wipe gravy off his face. "Sorry Hermione it was late before I got to sleep. It's quite a long walk to the shack you know."

Hermione gave Harry an exasperated look. "Honestly Harry I don't understand how you can be so calm about having to share a home with a dangerous dark creature."

"Hermione you're being a hypocrite." At Hermione's absolutely outraged look Harry rushed to explain.

"Look, you know nothing about Lilliana and you're not even giving her a chance. And don't you bring up her being a so called dark creature. Remus is a werewolf and most people avoid him like the plague but we all know he's one of the nicest people you will ever meet."

"Yes Harry but Remus is only dangerous once each month. Vampires don't change back into normal people each morning. They will always be looking for someone to feed off and you are going to be the closest meal."

"Look Hermione, Dumbledore trusts her and she already refused to join Voldemort so maybe she isn't as dark as you think. Either way she deserves the same chance we would give anyone else we met. Only the pureblood lunatics judge everyone the same." Hermione started to look slightly ashamed but Harry didn't feel like sticking around to continue the conversation. Getting up from the table Harry made it about three feet before his scar exploded in pain and he collapsed into unconsciousness.

One nearby student screamed when Harry's scar literally exploded and showered the floor in blood. More screams joined the first when Harry's limp body crashed forward onto the floor in a heap, more blood flowing quickly from his scar.

Dumbledore and the other professors quickly made their way over to him and with a muttered spell from Dumbledore Harry floated into the air and flipped over. Harry's face was completely covered in blood and more ran down the side of his head from his scar before it fell to floor. Dumbledore waved his wand a couple more times and the torrent of blood from Harry's scar lessened slightly but still continued to flow. "I can't stop the bleeding," Dumbledore said worriedly. "We need to get him to the infirmary quickly." Dumbledore took off out the doors of the Great Hall with Harry's limp form floating along in front of him. Most of the teachers followed Dumbledore at a run while a couple stayed behind to watch over the rest of the children.

A couple minutes late the doors of the infirmary slammed open and Dumbledore came running through before he stopped and lowered Harry onto a bed. "Poppy!" He yelled urgently "Emergency! Bring blood replenishing potions!"

Poppy Pomfrey ran over to the bed with an armful of potions. "What happened to him?" Even while she spoke she propped Harry up and began pouring potions down his throat.

"Voldemort," Replied Dumbledore. "He is attacking Harry through his scar, but I've never seen it this severe."

Madam Pomfrey continued to administer potions and cast spells for several more minutes before she cast a worried glance at the Headmaster. "I've done everything I can think of but the bleeding won't stop. Something is continually forcing the scar to stay open and bleed. We need to get him to St. Mungo's right away."

"That will not be necessary Madam Pomfrey." Everyone turned to the doors where Lilliana was standing calmly dressed in a thick black cloak. She strode forward and the crowd of teachers parted to make way for her. "You should have alerted me immediately Headmaster, as it is I could smell all the blood from the shack. Now everyone stand back and I'll deal with him, Madam Pomfrey please wake him." Madam Pomfrey looked ready to object but a nod from Dumbledore was enough to get her to agree.

Madame Pomfrey waved her wand and Harry sat straight up on the bed screaming at the top of lungs as blood ran still faster from his scar. Lilliana grabbed both sides of his head and forced him to look at her. Her eyes glowed an eerie red and Harry's screaming ceased before she spoke to him in a hypnotic voice. "Be still child, you will feel no more pain, just sleep without dreams." Harry's eyes rolled back in his head before he slumped against Lilliana who lowered him gently onto the bed. Then Lilliana put one of her fingers in her mouth before running it along his blood soaked scar. The teachers were amazed when they say Harry's scar seal itself together again as good as new. "Vampires have the natural ability to hypnotize and heal wounds. It allows us to hunt more easily without doing any serious harm to the people we feed on. Closing the wound also makes it harder to notice when we have fed on someone."

"But why did you need to wake him if it was so easy for you to heal the wound?" Asked Pomfrey, "Waking him up only caused him more pain!"

"Voldemort was still attacking his mind, which is why the scar would not close. I used my natural ability to close off his mind from the Dark Lord. Harry will be asleep for several hours so do not even try to wake him. When he wakes I will take him to begin training immediately otherwise Voldemort is likely to try this again."

"I doubt your training will help. Potter couldn't even begin to keep me from his mind," Sneered Professor Snape. "He'll never be able to keep out the Dark Lord."

Lilliana looked toward Snape and her eyes flashed for a brief second. "Perhaps if he was trained by someone with any degree of interest in actually teaching him something it might go better."

When Harry awoke it was once again dark outside. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked around until he spotted a figure lurking in one corner barely illuminated by the moonlight streaming through the windows. "Lilliana?" He asked.

The woman in question walked out of the corner and sat in a seat next to Harry's bed. "How are you feeling now Harry?"

Harry shrugged, "Better than I was earlier today. Thank you for blocking him out. I tried to do it myself but Voldemort has never been that forceful before. Not even when he was trying to possess me at the ministry."

"He was trying to control you at the ministry not kill you. Today he was clearly trying to fulfill the prophecy using your link to him. You can't allow him to gain control again so starting tomorrow night we will begin your training. I'll teach you what you need to know to keep yourself alive in any situation."

Harry nodded with a determined look on his face. "Sounds like a good idea to me. But I was wondering how you were here earlier? How did u get all the way to the infirmary in broad daylight?"

Lilliana smirked, " Remember that heavy cloak I was wearing? I'm fine as long as daylight doesn't touch my skin I am perfectly fine. Normally I would never take the risk but I owe you a life debt and you would have died without my help."

Harry frowned, "If you saved my life then doesn't that mean our debt is settled? Why are you still willing to help me? You have no reason to."

"I agreed to help you so I will. Besides it's not like I have anywhere else to go at this point. I just want to warn you now, the training you go through will be more intense than anything you have ever experienced and the pain with be more than most people could bear. But by the time we are done you will be able to keep Voldemort from your mind with ease and be able to take on a vampire in hand to hand combat. This is your last chance to back out if it isn't what you want."

Harry just smiled, "It sounds like fun. I'm in."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Children of the Night**_

_**Chapter 4**_

_A/N:_ Here's chapter 4. I thought I would take the chance to give some back story on my character so enjoy. Tell me what you think. Harry's friends and other characters won't be neglected in the next few chapters.

_Disclaimer:_ For a disclaimer refer to the last 3 chapters. I couldn't think of any comment to make for this one.

Blood flowed in small lines down Harry's arm from a gash in his shoulder. It ran down to his fingertips to drip slowly onto the floor. Harry shook his head to clear out the light headedness and focus on the vampire in front of him.

Lilliana gave him a bored look. "We are going to keep this up until you can finally keep me out of your mind entirely. I won't heal your wound until you succeed. Now I'm going to go over this one more time before we try again. Imagine a wall in mind and focus on it completely. Focus all your conscious thought on this one image and it's all anyone will see if the read your mind."

"But Snape kept telling me to clear my mind. This isn't anything like that." Harry said in frustration.

Lilliana growled, "Listen. It's clear to see that man is an incompetent teacher. It is impossible for a living creature to cease all thought. Even I, while not actually alive, cannot stop all thought. It's possible that Snape simply imagines a black void instead of a wall but calling that clearing your mind the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Now we're going to try again. Prepare yourself!"

Harry quickly focused on the image of a stone wall in his mind. As he felt a pressure on his mind he focused on more details of wall. Focusing on the rough texture and areas where the stones fit together. Harry almost lost his concentration when Lilliana spoke. "Very good now keep it up. Stay focused even while someone speaks to you. Good" Lilliana slowly walked toward Harry while maintaining eye contact. Harry felt the pressure continue to grow but maintained his focus. However he almost lost focus when vicious punch landed on the gash in his right shoulder. Other than a sharp intake of breath Harry did not respond and his focus did not falter. He was determined to succeed this time.

Lilliana Nodded approvingly. "Well done. You were finally able to maintain focus even under pain. It took you two weeks but now was can move on to other things. I had the house elves bring down a number of books from the Hogwarts library. Please look through them and pick one to start with. Read through some of it tonight and we'll put it to practice in the morning. Oh, and don't forget to practice your occlumency every night from now on. Now that you can actually do it correctly the practice will keep your skills sharp.

Lilliana started to leave the room but Harry stopped her. "Do you think you could fix my arm before you go? I'm starting to get really light headed."

Lilliana walked over to Harry and licked her linger before running it over his wound. She looked up at him as the wound sealed. "What is it Harry?" She asked, noticing the thoughtful look on his face.

"You're not what I expect a vampire to be like." Harry blurted out before his face went red with embarrassment.

Lilliana raised an eyebrow. "What did you expect a Vampire to be like?"

"I don't know." Harry said as he looked away. "Mindless, bloodthirsty, and evil I guess. That's kind of what vampires sounded like when we learned about them at Hogwarts."

Lilliana sighed and motioned for both of them to sit near the fireplace. "Since you're so curious I will do my best to explain more about vampires and answer any questions you have. To start your education is at least partially correct even if it horrendous. There are some people who can't handle the bloodlust when they become vampires and they go mad as a result. In the beginning every vampire struggles with the intense bloodlust in the beginning. To help us learn to deal with it the vampire who bites us is supposed to still around the first few years. They also teach us to hunt properly and heal the bite marks when we are finished. However, the thing that helps us overcome the bloodlust most is time. The longer we live the easier it becomes to deal with."

"How old are you? I mean if you don't mind me asking that is."

Lilliana gave a slight smile. "Vampires live forever if something doesn't get in the way Harry. The older we are the more respected we are by other vampires. I have been a vampire for three hundred years but I'm only a teenager myself by the standards of the elder vampires."

"Three hundred years?" Harry asked in a shocked voice. "I never thought I'd actually meet someone who was older than Dumbledore. How old were you when you were bitten? Who bit you?"

Lilliana's smile faltered. "I was nineteen when I was bitten. It wasn't by choice. The vampire who bit me was completely mad. I would have been killed if my father had not heard my scream. When I turned they shunned me and ran me out of our home, I guess I should be thankful they didn't kill me instead. When my father died 3 years later they attacked me when I showed up at his funeral. They thought I was there to drain him of his blood." She ended with vehemence in her voice.

"I'm so sorry." Harry said, "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. I never knew my parents, but my family has shunned me since I became their responsibility. They would have thrown me out if they had a choice. I understand what that feels like."

"But you've lived with them since your parents died haven't you? It's very different to see people who cared about you suddenly turn you away because they think you're a monster."

Harry looked down sullenly. "How did you deal with it? I've been called mad and dangerous all year and I was blinded by anger half the time and spent the other half sulking. Now I feel like it was nothing, it hardly compares to what you went through."

Lilliana turned away and looked out a window at the moon as it slowly moved down below the trees. "I thought about ending it, just stepping out into sunlight or driving a steak through my heart. But I was never able to bring myself to do it. When a vampire dies our bodies burn themselves to dust, and if the way I've heard a dying vampire's scream means anything then it's the most painful death imaginable."

"So you just go on? Can't you find something that makes you happy? I mean, you can live forever, you could see the whole world and learn so much."

Lilliana stood tiredly. "I find purpose where I can. Right now that purpose is to teach you, not to face my own demons. We'll talk more later, now go get started on your reading. I'll be in my room if you need me.

Harry sat in his chair for a few minutes deep in thought about his vampire roommate. She clearly had demons of her own but before now he hadn't really thought to ask about her at all. He was slightly ashamed to admit he had thought of her more as creature than a person with a past. 'I'll talk to her more later.' Harry thought before he rose and walked over to a table where a few dozen books were stacked. Skimming the book title Harry quickly selected one titled "_Dueling for Your Life__"._ Harry opened the book and was surprised to see a stamp showing the book was from the restricted section of the library. 'I didn't think Dumbledore would be willing to let me read the books from the restricted section.'

His interest peaked Harry opened the book and began to read through. The book went into great detail on dueling techniques and many spells to protect the caster as well as do some very nasty damage to his opponents. The books author clearly believed that believed in a 'shoot to kill' philosophy. He stated, "When dueling an opponent who intent isn't clear its best to show no mercy. You can always try to help him after your own safety has been assured." It was noon the next day before Harry knew it. He marked his place and set the book down before he went upstairs to finally get some rest.

_A/N:_ Please Review. I could use some input.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Children of the Night**_

_**Chapter 5**_

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own any of this. I just write it for fun.

_A/N:_ Felt like skipping ahead a bit to set the plot up for later chapters. Don't really know when I'll get the time to write those later chapters but I'll update when I can.

It was midnight on the outskirts of small muggle town in northern Scotland when a group of ten men in black robes appeared out of thin air. White masks covered the faces of the Death Eaters as they quietly spread through the town. None of them noticed when two figures appeared silently behind them in small clouds of black smoke. These two figures were completely invisible on the moonless night, except for their eyes, one pair an eerie green and the other a malicious red. The two eyes looked at each other briefly before they disappeared again in clouds of smoke.

Yaxley whistled a quiet tune to himself as he strolled through the deserted muggle town. 'Poor disgusting muggles,' He thought to himself. 'None of them have any idea what's about to happen to them. They all think they're safe in their little homes.' Yaxley chuckled to himself at the thought. He felt something move quickly past behind him and spun around, wand drawn. But the street behind him was empty. A streetlight flickered and Yaxley swore he saw something move in the shadows of an alleyway. "Hey," He said pointing his want toward the alley. "Whoever you are, come out where I can see you." There was a rustling sound from a roof to his right followed by a scream of terror. Yaxley spun at the sound as one of his death eater recruits came tumbling from the roof. The screaming ceased when the man landed the sidewalk in a bloody heap. "Avada Kedavra!" He shouted. The spell struck the roof and illuminated the area the man had fallen from but no one was there. "What the hell is going on?" Just then two more screams echoed from other streets. What was happening? Only worthless muggles lived here. "Everyone regroup!" Four recruits came running to him from other streets as yet another scream rose from the distance.

"What the hell is going on Yaxley?" One of them hissed.

"Hold your tongue boy!" Yaxley snarled. He looked at the other three. "Where are the others?"

"We don't know! We just heard the screams."

Another of the recruits hobbled into the light of the streetlight. "Where have you been?" Yaxley hissed. "Did see anything?" The recruit didn't say anything. He hobbled a few steps before he lurched forward and collapsed in a heap under the streetlight, A dagger glinted in the light where it stuck out from the death eaters back.

The remaining recruits were visibly frightened now and Yaxley was enraged. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" He yelled into darkness.

"Who are we?" Came a voice from behind him. Yaxley spun around but the man was already gone again in a cloud of smoke. One of the recruits attempted to hit the mysterious man with a cutting hex, but instead the hex passed through the air where he had been and struck Yaxley in the thigh. Yaxley screamed in pain and pointed his wand at the recruit "Avada Kedavra!" The recruit crumpled to the ground dead.

"Tisk Tisk," Came the sound a male voice out of the darkness. "Don't go killing your own death eaters now. That would take all the fun out our little game." A bloody death eater mask flew out of the darkness and landed in the light. "Oh this is so much fun!" Said a female voice.

The recruits were barely holding it together at this point and even Yaxley himself was shaking in fear. Who the hell were these people? When the streetlight flickered again to dead completely, plunging them all into darkness. Suddenly the death eaters were in a blind panic and began firing curses wildly in all directions. They never saw the two sets of glowing eyes watching them with amusement from the roof of a house some distance away. The disappeared again and suddenly spells began raining down on the death eaters, flying in from a dozen different directions. The death eaters scattered in all directions while returning fire as best they could. Out of nowhere the spell fire stopped, a moment later the streetlight flickered back to life above Yaxley. He was alone on the street, "Regroup!" He called.

"I think we've got them over here!" Came a reply.

"Bring them to me!"

His three remaining recruits staggered back into the light hauling two unconscious figured clad in black robes. "I'll teach you to mess with the Dark Lords followers!" Yaxley had no patience to torture them now, two killing curses made quick work of the unconscious pair. "Now let's see who you were." He threw the hood back from the two bodies and his eyes widened, these were two of his recruits. Then who were the people in uniform?

Yaxley never got a chance to act. As soon as he hesitated over the two corpses one of the people in death eater garb struck him hex, conjured appeared from thin air and bound him as he toppled to the ground. He watched as another imposter grabbed the remaining recruit from behind and slit his throat with the quick slice of a dagger. The recruit made a gurgling sound and grabbed his throat with both hands as blood flew everywhere. The imposter who bound Yaxley walked over to one of the other death eaters and removed the dagger from the man's back.

Yaxley had never been so terrified in his life. The cold and ruthless death eater shook with fear when one of the unknown attackers lifted him up by the throat with one hand. He finally screamed in terror when he felt the fangs pierce his neck.

Harry felt an involuntary shiver run down his spine as he watched Yaxley grow incredibly pale and slump onto the ground where Lilliana loomed over him. It was the first time he had ever seen a vampire feeding, and was something he wouldn't mind never seeing again. Lilliana turned to him and he could see two lines of glistening blood running from her lips. Harry held her gaze for only a second before looking away. Yes, definitely not something he needed to see again.

They gathered the bodies together in a group before either spoke again. "What should we do with them now?" asked Harry. "Just leave them here for someone to find?"

"No, we should send them back to Voldemort as a message"

Harry nodded, that made sense. But his thoughts strayed to Sirius, and what these disgusting people would have done to the inhabitants of the town, and all the other people that suffered at the hands of the death eaters. He was shaking with anger by the time his thoughts returned the present.

"I found a portkey on the leader, Yaxley" Lilliana said, holding it up for him to see. "We can use this to send them directly back to Voldemort."

"I've got a better idea." Harry waved his hand and conjured a large axe. "We should send Voldemort a stronger message than a few dead minions." He raised the axe above his head. "This is for Sirius."

Voldemort was gathered with many of death eaters later that night at Malfoy Manor. He sat upon a small throne gazing at the death eaters kneeling before him, Bu he noticed that several were missing. "Lucius where are Yaxley and the recruits? They should have returned by now."

Lucius Malfoy stood and moved in front of the dark lord before kneeling again. "I do not know my lord." Just then a chime sounded throughout the house, warning of an incoming portkey. "That must be them returning now milord." Said Lucius, sounding relieved that he did not have to give his master bad news yet again.

His relief however was short lived. The portkey returned, and deposited the severed heads of the ten missing death eaters between himself and the dark lord. Voldemort himself seemed to be shocked as he watched several of the heads roll across the stone floor. I small red envelope rose from the pile and folded itself into the shape of a mouth before it began to speak.

"Hello Tom," Came the unmistakable voice of the boy-who-lived. "I hope you enjoy this little gift from me to you. I found your little friends here skulking around a muggle town tonight. I'm sorry to say we got in a bit of a scuffle and they sort of… lost their heads." The voice stopped to chuckle to himself for a moment. "Try to keep them from causing too much trouble in the future will you Tom? I'd hate for you to find yourself running short on minions. Well that's really all I had to say so, goodbye for now! I'm sure we'll see each other soon." With that the envelope crumpled itself into a ball before exploding in a shower of confetti. In its wake it left a dark lord covered in confetti and shaking in rage. For hours the screams of punished death eaters would echo through the manor as they paid the price of enraging Lord Voldemort.

Arriving back at the Shrieking Shack Harry collapsed into a chair while twisting the cap off his newest acquisition, a bottle of firewiskey. Lilliana sat in a chair next to him quietly and waited for him to speak. "I can't believe we just did that, I just did that. What the hell was I thinking?" He a large gulp from the liquor bottle and sputtered as the liquid burned his throat.

"You did what was necessary Harry. They would have slaughtered every muggle in that village if we hadn't stopped them."

"Yes but we didn't just stop them did we? No, we toyed with them, butchered them, And the worst thing is… it felt good. I LIKED toying with them, I liked sending ten severed heads back to Voldemort." Harry took another drink from his bottle. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

"You're being far too naïve Harry. You know the sort of things that they do to people. We didn't even torture them so they got off better than their own victims. Don't let the deaths of a bunch a murderers and rapists weigh down your conscience."

Harry took another drink before finally setting the bottle down. "I guess you're right." Lilliana gave him a sympathetic look and stood up leave the room.

"You better get some sleep Harry. Don't forget your headmaster wanted to see you tomorrow morning." Lilliana left the room without another word, and left Harry to his dark thoughts.

That night the inhabitants of Hogsmeade were once again convinced of haunting at the Shrieking Shack. Screams rent the air every few hours as one of the shack's inhabitants awoke from his constant nightmares.

_A/N:_ Hope you enjoyed it.


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